Why I Oughta...

At some point earlier this year, I picked up this copy of #188 Walt Disney's Comics and stories book at an antique mall up in Wisconsin.  This one is from May of 1956 and is in good condition, but we're not retiring on this thing!  I paid just $1 for the book and it will go into the archives here at the homestead.   This is the third 'vintage Disney' item that we own with a few others that I've posted about here on the blog that 'got away'. The first are these Matchbox cars from the 70's/80's that were mine when I was a kid . Then there was this vintage Pooh Bear Golden book from a garage sale .   A prized possession:  this election-themed Pooh Bear glass from Sears .   Then this Summer, I shared this Mickey the Mouse back scratcher .   And finally, I found this vintage Disneyland pennant at an estate sale .  

Unlike the 1986 Marshall Field's Christmas Mug and the vintage Disneyland tray , this Big Mac McDonald's glass from the 1980's ended up coming home with us.  After a quick run through the dishwasher, this Big Mac glass took it's rightful place next to the other vintage glasses in my everyday use collection including these Muppets McDonald's glasses , this Snoopy one , this Chipettes one , and this White Sox 'Winning Ugly' glass .   They're all things that I remember in from my childhood and are all bought for less than a buck a piece.  If you're about my age, you totally remember these, right?  This Big Mac one is from a set of five featuring : Mayor McCheese, Hamburgler, Ronald, Big Mac himself, Captain Crook (who's he??) and Grimace.   Of course, I'll be trying to complete the set.  

One last item from our recent Antique Mall visit and this one, too, is Disney-related.  Unlike both the Disco record and the Disneyland tray , this WDW Mickey Mouse backscratcher was something that I couldn't live without. I never knew how much I had to scratch my back until this thing came into my life.  They're a dime a dozen (or more like $10 to $12) on Ebay, but this one was just a couple of bucks.  Thus, it came home with us. But, the other part of this that I was drawn to was what you see below:  The Globe Mickey. If you turn the backscratcher sideways, you'll see that there's a "Walt Disney Productions" printed on the backscratcher, which helps date it 1 . There's a hole on one end of the scratcher which is just screaming out for a nail to be used to hang this thing.  Maybe down in my shop?  Or maybe next to the pinboards in the garage? Also, it is clear that the Disney bug has struck me when it comes to vintage find hunting, rig

Same story as the Disneyland tray from the Wisconsin Antique Mall :  I passed.  But not before picking this thing up, admiring it and giving it quite a bit of thought before, ultimately, putting it down and letting someone else own this. Remember: It is enough to enjoy the existence of things without possessing all of them . But, now, back to this record.  Or ' piece of vinyl ' if you will.    It was released in 1979.  And charted as high as on the Billboard Pop Charts . Here's the track listing: The whole record can be found here on YouTube .  Not so great, if you ask me. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah seems to be the standout.  Here it is: Or Maybe Chim Chim Cher-ee:

Up in Wisconsin, I came across this totally adorable 1 Disneyland "California" tray.  It is about one foot in diameter and super thin with a shallow lip.  Not the kind of lip you normally see on the beer trays like this Schlitzerland one . You can see the price tag on this one:  $18.  And I thought about this thing for a bit, but then I leaned hard on my collecting mantra .  I said it out loud to myself: "It is enough to enjoy the existence of things without possessing all of them."   And after snapping this photo, I put it back for some other collector to pick it up, love it and (hopefully) use it. I'm guessing it is from the 70's, right?  Like the late 70's?  It is in really great condition and *feels* vintage, but isn't *old*. You can click here to see the same photo on Google Photos where you can really zoom in to see all the details.  Go ahead... go over there . Ah, you're back.  Still have that Google Photos tab open?  Gre

Over the years, I've shared my family's experiences at the Walnut Room at Marshall Field's Macy's on State Street in Chicago .  We go every year and have gone since I was just a little guy.  It is something that my Mom organizes and I come to look forward to each season.  I've also chronicled the unfortunate fate of Uncle Mistletoe and Marshall Field's itself . I've also begun to build a document of the annual mugs that are released by the Walnut Room each year at Christmastime. This post has the full reference list that I've built so far.  But, the photo above includes a new one:  1986 featuring Santabear in red outline form 1 .  Or at least that I thought it was Santabear.  But, look at the band on his hat:  Mistletoe.  And if you look closely at the scrawl on the far right you'll see: "Greetings from Mistletoe Bear." What the what?!? Let's go back and look at the history so far on the blog as documented through the glass

We picked up this kids bank at Affordable Antiques some time last year but we had to wait until this Spring to give it the intended target:  my brother-in-law. He's a hardcore Sox guy and also has an appreciation for old stuff, so it was a perfect fit.